The Story of Sharon
by Pavi's Girl
Summary: Murder. I give Kristi Ann Credit for helping with this. It's not finished yet...so...
1. Prolouge

Caree Marx was twelve years old in the seventh grade. Her thick dirty-blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders framed her freckled face and round blue eyes. She loved to hang out with her friends and always welcomed a new friend. She had many friends but felt that it was unfair to choose one over the other. This, however, led to a problem. A very BIG problem… 


	2. New Neighbors

**Chapter 1: The New Neighbors**

"Hey Caree. Those people moved in today," Alyssa Wellington said excitedly over the phone.

"Cool. Are they nice?" Caree Marx asked with the same enthusiasm while tucking her shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair behind her ears. She could tell her round blue eyes were sparkling.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to them yet. There's a girl there. She looks about our age," Alyssa said.

"I think I'll go over there and meet them. I know you won't. Even though they are _your_ NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS!" Caree said, laughing.

"You do that Caree. I'll be at my house when you're done!" Alyssa said and hung up quickly.

Caree nervously walked up the porch steps. She took three quick breaths and rang the doorbell. A young girl with coal black hair answered the door. Her green v-neck sweater matched her emerald green eyes. "Hello?" she said questioningly.

"Hi. My name is Caree. I don't exactly live around here, but my friend is your next-door neighbor. She said a girl our age moved in so I dropped by to say hello," Caree said nervously playing with her fingers.

"Oh. That was very nice of you. My name is Sharon Ward. You are the first to come by Caree. I must return the favor of your kindness," she said studying Caree closely. Caree smiled at her nervously. Sharon smiled back. "Oh you rode your bike here," Sharon said gazing at Caree's bike.

"Yeah. Do you want to go for a bike ride?" Caree asked. "Sure. Mom! I'm going on a bike ride! Bye!" Sharon yelled through the screen door excitedly. She stepped outside. "Oh my gosh its freezing out here. Let me just get my coat."

"Well, yeah, I mean it _is_ December," Caree said laughing, her breath steaming the frigid air.

While Caree waited for Sharon to get her coat Caree looked around Marion Court. Despite the numbing cold no snow had fallen on the dead grass. A few seconds later Sharon's garage opened, startling Caree. Sharon appeared in a green winter coat that also matched her eyes perfectly. She walked over to a black and green bike and walked it down the driveway while Caree ran down to where she left her bike.

Caree and Sharon rode through the subdivision talking casually. "Do you want to meet my friends Chris and Ryan?" Caree asked when they turned onto Laurel Oak Lane.

"That would be nice," Sharon answered. They rode their bikes over to Chris's house first. Caree rang the doorbell. Christian Stephons's tall figure appeared at the door, shaking his sandy blonde hair out of his face. He was followed by Ryan Harringway. Ryan's brown eyes, which always seemed to be dancing, matched his brown hair.

"Oh no," Chris muttered. He conjured a look of horror on his boyish face. Caree started laughing. Sharon looked up at him, wondering what Caree thought was so funny.

"Was sup?" Ryan shouted. Sharon and Caree both laughed.

"Hey Ryan," Caree said. "This is Sharon Ward. She just moved in next door to Alyssa," Caree greeted.

"Hey," came Chris and Ryan's replies.

"We have to go we just stopped by so Sharon could meet you," Caree said in a rush after a minute of uneasy silence.

"Alright see ya!" Ryan yelled as Chris quickly closed the door.

"Where do you live?" Sharon asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Not in this sub. Do you want to ride by my house?" Caree asked. Sharon nodded. The girls pedaled down D.W. Seaton talking casually about their interests. "Wow, we have a lot in common," Caree said grinning.

"Friends tend to," Sharon stated, her green eyes on Caree.

"W-what?" Caree stammered.

"Friends always have a lot in common. We are friends… right?" Sharon asked.

"Well I guess," Caree answered uneasily.

"I like having friends," Sharon said in a low creepy voice.

When they got to Caree's house, Cameel's friend Bridget stopped by. "Hey Bridget!" Caree said happily.

"Hey Caree! Who is this?" Bridget asked, her long, dark hair flowing freely behind her pale freckled face. She pulled at her white fur-trimmed coat.

"Oh. This is Sharon Ward. She just moved in by Alyssa. Sharon, this is my friend Bridget Jenkins. We've been friends since third grade," Caree said excitedly.

"Is she your _best_ friend Caree?" Sharon asked, blankly staring at Bridget.

"Well actually all of my close friends are my best friends," Caree answered awkwardly, slightly confused by the question.

"What time is it Caree?" Sharon asked a short while later. She turned and stared at Caree, her emerald green eyes sparkling.

"Uh, three-thirty," Caree said glancing at her watch.

"I better get going. We have a lot of unpacking to do," she said.

"Do you want us to ride our bikes home with you?" Caree asked.

"No it's ok. I remember the way home," She said and smiled. She blew Caree a kiss and left.

"Ok, that was kind of odd," Caree said as Sharon turned the corner.

"A little? Caree that girl is messed up!" Bridget exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Caree asked sitting on the cold grass.

"I don't know. Maybe it's her eyes. They seem to look inside you, not at you. She just gives me the creeps," Bridget said with a shiver.

"Well she likes a lot of the same things as I do," Caree said with a shrug.

"Caree! You don't think that she's weird?" Bridget said, joining Caree on the grass.

"No. What's wrong with her?" Caree asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just about that whole 'Best Friend' thing," Bridget sighed.

"Bridgie, she was just curious that's all. Yeah, sure it was kind of weird but nobody's perfect," Caree said, surprised at how defensive she was being. She herself thought Sharon was a little strange.

Bridget smiled. "Yeah maybe I'm just paranoid. But the whole kiss thing? Please don't tell me she's a lesbian!" Bridget said.

"I don't think so, because if she is I'll introduce her to someone else. No way am I going through that again!" Caree said laughing.


	3. Friends Forever

_Disclaimer: I changed the names of the people in here. Sorry, but i used one persons last name._

**Chapter 2: Friends Forever**

Caree slowly rose from bed. The only reason she had gotten up so early was because her mother had said she had a phone call. "Hullo?" Caree said groggily.

"Hey Caree did I wake you. I'm sorry," Came the hushed voice of Sharon.

"Sharon? Oh. Yeah you woke me up. So why are you calling so early?" Caree asked rubbing her eyes.

"Early? Caree it's nine-thirty! Well sorry. I didn't know you slept in. Well I was wondering if we could go on another bike ride. Like we did yesterday. It was fun," Sharon said.

"Ok. I'll get dressed," Caree said. "Ok see you then," Sharon hung up.

Caree tugged her blue turtleneck sweater over her head and pulled on a pair of jeans. She ran downstairs and ate a quick bowl of cereal. "Mom I'm going on a bike ride with Sharon," Caree screamed as she headed to the front closet to get her coat.

"With who?" Her mom screamed back.

"With Sharon! That girl that moved in next-door to Amanda!" Caree yelled back, pulling on her coat.

"Oh, okay! Don't be out to long! And wear your coat!"

"I know Mom!" Caree yelled and headed out the front door.

By the time Caree was outside, Sharon was coming up her driveway on her bike.

"Gosh it's freezing out here!" mumbled Caree.

"Is the weather always this cold?" Sharon asked.

"No, only during the winter. So where do you want to go today?" Caree asked hopping on her bike.

"Farther," Sharon said smiling. "Ok. We can go around Sycamore and Creek Lane and stuff," Caree said returning her smile.

"Um, Sharon. I've got a kind of weird question for you," Caree said.

"Yeah? Don't worry Caree you can ask me anything." Sharon said.

"Do you… uh… do you 'like' girls?" Caree asked avoiding her eyes. Sharon didn't answer so Caree glanced over at her. Sharon's eyes were filled with tears. "Oh my gosh Sharon! I am SO sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings! I mean I was just wondering because of yesterday," Caree said really fast.

Sharon stopped. "Because I gave you a kiss? That's how I am. I blow kisses to every one. I also give a lot of hugs. That's how I was raised. It's not like I actually _kissed _you. I just do that to say good-bye to people I really like. Like you," Sharon said, still crying.

"I'm sorry. I just never have had friends that do that. But that's ok if you do it. It was just kind of a shock," Caree said.

"So we're still friends?" Sharon asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Of course," Caree said.

"That's good," Sharon leaned over and gave Caree a hug. "We will be friends forever," Sharon whispered.

The girls continued their bike ride. They talked about everything that came to mind. "I'm so glad there's no snow yet," Caree said shivering.

"If there was we wouldn't be able to ride our bikes," Sharon pointed out.

"Hey Caree!" Christi Holtzman and Alyssa yelled. They were attempting to do gymnastics on Christie's front lawn.

"Who are they?" Sharon asked suspiciously.

"Those are my friends Christie Holtzman and Alyssa Wellington. Amanda is your next door neighbor," Caree answered. They got off their bikes and walked onto Christie's lawn. "Hi!" Caree said, dropping her bike on the sidewalk.

"Hey, aren't you that new girl?" Alyssa asked as Caree and Sharon walked towards them. Alyssa's curly brown hair was everywhere.

"Yeah. My name is Sharon, Sharon Ward," She said. She stared at both of them, no emotion showing.

"We were planning a trip to Premier," Christie said. She placed her long, always perfectly straight, dark hair carefully behind her ears.

"And the library!" Alyssa added in a rush.

"Cool," Caree answered.

"Do you want to come? _Christian's _coming!" Alyssa teased.

"Yeah and I'll bet _Ryan_ is too," Caree remarked. Both girls were now blushing furiously. Christie and Sharon both laughed.

"Sharon you can come to, and Bridget if she wants," Christie added. Alyssa made a face. Her and Bridget didn't get along to well.

"Sounds… fun," Sharon said, still staring.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow then," Caree said. Sharon and Caree continued their bike ride.

"Are _they _your best friends Caree?" Sharon asked once they were out of earshot.

"No Sharon. All my friends that are my close friends are my best friends. I already told you that," Caree said still confused.

"That can be rearranged," Sharon said quietly so Caree would not hear her.


	4. “Perfect Place for a murder…”

**Chapter 3: "_Perfect Place for a murder…_"**

The next day Sharon, Christie, Bridget, and Caree met Alyssa, Ryan, and Chris at Premier lanes and theaters the next day. They were all laughing and talking about random things. The seven kids walked up to the counter, waiting for somebody to give them they're tickets. A worker that they usually called Mr. Sir-Dude came to the register and gave them their tickets. Alyssa started looking at the candy. "You know, you're supposed to go to the dollar store first. The one that's almost right next-door," Mr. Sir-Dude said matter-of-factly.

"Will you hold the movie for us?" Alyssa asked suspiciously. Mr. Sir-Dude nodded and laughed as the kids ran outside to go to the dollar store. Alyssa picked out one or more of almost everything. She emptied her candy onto the counter. The cashier looked at her as though she was crazy.

After they were finished in the dollar store, they all rushed back to the movie theater. They ordered some popcorn and rushed into the empty theater. Sharon looked around the dark movie theater. They had chosen to watch _Jeepers Creepers. _"Gosh," Sharon said, "This place is so empty it'd be the perfect place for a murder." All of the kids laughed thinking nothing of it except for Bridget, whose eyes glimmered with terror.

They all screamed throughout the movie, especially Caree who was afraid of almost everything. After the movie everyone went to the library. Caree, Bridget, and Alyssa, checked out a variety of books but Christie, of course, checked out eighteen R.L. Stine books. Everyone was staring at her as she carried her books to the counter.

"What?" she asked and conjured a confused expression on her face. They all laughed.

After they left the library they all headed towards their favorite coffee shop, New York Now. Caree breathed in the scent of coffee. _Yuck,_ she thought. Caree hated the smell of coffee, which everybody thought she was crazy because of. They sat in a booth sipping on their Italian sodas as they talked and joked around. "Caree somewhere very… very deep down, you know, I might actually like you. But of course you are an annoying brat so the chances are very small!" Ryan teased. Caree was going to laugh but Sharon's loud, angry shout interrupted her.

"That is so totally rude it's not even funny! Caree is my friend and I'm not going to let you talk about her that way!" Sharon leapt up out of her seat, looking like she was going to punch him, but Caree held her back.

"It's a joke," Caree said soothingly, "He always does that." She shot Ryan a confused expression as she continued to soothe Sharon.


	5. A Change in Schedule

**Chapter 4: A Change in Schedule**

The next day Caree received a call from Alyssa. "I wanted to know if you could come to the mall with me and Christie tomorrow morning. You can bring Sharon. And Bridget if you want," Alyssa added reluctantly.

"That sounds great!" Caree exclaimed.

"Don't you think Sharon's a little odd though?" Alyssa said.

"Oh you mean that whole thing at New York Now?" Caree asked, "I don't think she realized that it was a joke. I mean, I wouldn't want anybody talking to my friend that way either," Caree said struggling to keep her voice from sounding unsure.

"Yeah I guess you're right," came Alyssa's doubtful reply.

"Well, I've got to go," Caree said.

"Yeah see you tomorrow at nine-thirty alright? I'll meet you in Claire's," Alyssa said and hung up.

Caree called Bridget first. "Hey Bridgie do you want to go to the mall tomorrow? We're meeting in Claire's at nine-thirty." Caree said.

"All right, sounds fun. But I'm watching Alex so I've got to get off the phone. Bye!" Bridget hung up. _Now I just have to call Sharon, _Caree thought. She started to look for Sharon's phone number on the caller I.D. but the phone started to ring. The sound startled Caree, making her jump.

"Hello?" Caree said when she answered the phone.

"Hey," came the voice of Christie. "Can you come over?" She asked excitedly.

"I don't know. Hold on, let me ask," Caree replied, "Mom! Can I go over Christie's?" Caree yelled. "Yeah, I can," Caree said a few seconds later.

"Ok I'll see you then," Christie said.

Caree heard the click as the line went dead. Caree walked into Christie's house not even bothering to ring the doorbell. Christie's golden retriever, Kaisy, greeted her excitedly as Caree threw her coat on the railing on the stairs and ran up to Christie's room. She found Christie lying on her bed reading one of the R.L. Stine books she checked out the day before. Christie was wearing a fuzzy white sweater over dark blue jeans. Caree sat down on the bed next to her. "Hey," Caree said pulling down her seaweed green hooded sweatshirt with a monkey on the front over her faded denim jeans. They talked for a couple minutes about what they would do at the mall the next day.

The doorbell rang so Christie and Caree rushed downstairs to answer it. Kaisy was sitting at the door growling. "It's all right Kais," Christie said soothingly. Sharon stood at the door shivering, her breath steaming.

"Hi Sharon," Christie and Caree greeted.

"What are you doing here?" Christie asked.

"Oh, Caree's mom said that she was over here so I decided to stop by," Sharon answered. Sharon gave Christie her coat and the three girls raced up to Christie's room.

"So do you want to come to the mall with us tomorrow?" Caree asked.

"Of course!" Sharon exclaimed. Caree could see the excitement growing on her new friend's face. Noticing that Sharon was still shivering, they went downstairs and made hot chocolate and cappuccino.

"So Sharon are you excited about starting at a new school?" Christie asked. "I mean Christmas vacation is almost over."

"I'm very excited. I even changed my schedule so I would be in all of Caree's classes," Sharon said excitedly.

Caree and Christie exchanged glances. "That means you are in four of my classes," Christie pointed out.

"I didn't know you liked to sing," Caree said, talking about third hour choir class. Christie got an excited expression on her face. Singing was her favorite thing to do and she could befriend almost anyone who liked to sing.

Her excitement faded as Sharon said, "Well not really, but I wanted to be in all of your classes." Once again Christie and Caree exchanged glances.


	6. Broken Bones

**Chapter 5: Broken Bones**

The girls met in the center of the mall the next day. "I love shopping!" Alyssa squealed excitedly. Everyone laughed. They spent a long time in Claire's looking at all the earrings and other jewelry. Christie bought at least three pairs of earrings and Sharon bought a dangling green pair to match her eyes. She held them up to her ears and they looked gorgeous with her dark green turtleneck. They shopped for over an hour and decided to have lunch.

At Coney Island the girls sat in a booth, laughing and talking and having a great time. "So how long have you known everyone Caree?" Sharon asked suddenly very serious.

"Um, let's see," Caree said uneasily, "I've known Bridgie for five years, Christie for four, and Alyssa for three."

"Oh," Sharon said staring at the table. "What is your worst fear?" Sharon asked everyone.

"The dark, heights, icky slimy things… must I go on?" Caree asked.

Sharon laughed and turned her head to Alyssa. "Giant mutant spiders that try to take over the world… and koalas," she said.

Everyone laughed. Alyssa had some of the strangest things to say sometimes.

"Well I'm really not afraid of anything... except for my dad with a chainsaw," Christie admitted shyly.

"Birds," was all Bridget said.

When they finished lunch they hurried to the second floor. "Caree, I really need to talk to you, alone," Bridget said in a whisper.

"Hey everyone, Bridgie and I are going to go to the restroom so just wait here," Caree said. When they were in the bathroom Bridget let out a big sigh.

"What's the matter Bridgie?" Caree asked.

"I am so glad to be away from her! She really creeps me out Caree. She seems, oh I don't know, desperate, desperate to have you all to herself. I really feel scared around her," Bridget said uneasily.

"Do you want to go home? I'll call my mom to pick us up," Caree asked in a concerned tone.

"Please," Bridget answered.

"Are you guys coming or not?" Alyssa yelled from outside the hallway to the bathrooms. Caree and Bridget walked out of the bathroom and to the spot where they had left the girls. They all walked towards the elevator. Suddenly there was a loud scream that ended with a loud crack.

"Bridget!" Sharon cried. Sharon was standing on the escalator, a look of terror on her face.

"What happened?" Caree screamed from in front of her on the escalator.

"Bridget's pants, they got caught, and she-she fell." Sharon said between sobs.

"NO! BRITTANY!" Caree yelled. All she could do was stare at her friend's lifeless body. Bridget just lied there motionless. She was twisted at odd angles and totally cut up. Sharon quit sobbing to look down at Bridget's mangled body. A nasty grin spread across her face that nobody could see.

"Sticks and stones and broken bones," she muttered quietly. Nobody could hear her over everybody's horrified screams of terror.


	7. The Playground

**Chapter 6: The Playground**

About three days later Caree, Christie, and Alyssa walked into the hospital. "Third floor, room three-C," The lady behind the desk said flatly. Caree skipped up the steps to see her friend. Bridget had a broken leg, three broken ribs and a broken arm.

"You seem to be in a lot of pain," Caree said.

"No, I just itch real bad," Bridget said. Everyone laughed. Bridget winced in pain. "Please… don't make me laugh," she said in a tight, quiet voice.

"How did you fall? Sharon told us your pants caught on the escalator but I wasn't sure…" Caree's voice trailed off.

"I don't remember. I remember falling and saying some last words but don't remember how I fell," Bridget said.

"Well I'm never going on escalator again!" Caree stated.

"How's Sharon?" Bridget asked. She strained not to wince in pain with every word.

"I don't know. She hasn't left her house since the incident," Caree said.

"I think she feels bad. On the way home she kept on crying and saying that she could've saved you. She was afraid you were…" Christie choked out, unable to finish her sentence.

"Don't go over there Caree. That girl comes straight from a horror movie," Bridget said with a shudder.

"Brit she's not that bad. She's super nice to me about this whole thing," Caree said.

"Caree, I don't want you getting into trouble!" Brittany said breathlessly.

"Well I guess Sharon is kind of strange…"Alyssa admitted. Caree sighed. Bridget all of a sudden let out a huge yawn.

"Well we better get going. You need your rest. We'll be back as soon as we can. Promise." Caree said as she and her uninjured friends headed out the door.

Forgetting Bridget's plea Caree rode her bike to Sharon's house. She quickly went up the steps and rang the doorbell. Sharon answered the door. "Hey Caree. I thought you'd never come by after what happened," Sharon said in her sweet quiet voice. She closed the door and walked down the driveway with Caree.

"Don't worry Sharon. We're friends. I couldn't let you just sit in your house the rest of your life!" Caree said with a small nervous laugh.

"Caree, tell me. Who is your best friend?" Sharon asked staring at Caree.

"Sharon, as I said before, all of my close friends are my best friends. I don't think it's fair to choose between them," Caree said. "Do you want to go on a bike ride?" Caree asked, trying to change the subject. "Actually… hold on, wait here," Caree said, while running next door. She rang Alyssa's doorbell. Alyssa answered within a couple seconds. "Me and Sharon are going on a bike ride," Caree said. "Want to come?" She asked.

"Can we get Ryan?" Alyssa reasoned.

"Only if we can get Chris," Caree answered. The girls ran over to Sharon's house laughing.

After they got Chris and Ryan they all headed to Christie's sub. Caree rang the doorbell. "Hey," Christie answered. She didn't even wait for them to ask, she just tore her coat off the hanger, yelled to her mom that she was going on a bike ride rushed outside. "You and Alyssa just had to bring them along, _didn't_ you?" Christie joked looking at Chris and Ryan.

"Maybe," Caree answered, her pale freckled face turning red. The friends pedaled down Walnut deciding what they were going to do.

"Let's just hang out at the park," Ryan suggested.

They stopped at Great Oaks Elementary. "This is where everyone hung out in fifth and sixth grade. We used to think it was the best place on earth," Caree explained to Sharon.

"Gosh I haven't been her in forever," Christie said looking around. Her and Caree turned around quickly when they heard a loud scream coming from on top of the play equipment where Alyssa, Sharon, Chris, and Ryan were sitting. The scream was quickly cut short. Caree and Christie studied the top of the playground equipment. Alyssa… where was she? Caree looked down at the ground and began to scream.

Alyssa was lying on the woodchips face down. The blood was already beginning to puddle underneath her. Caree, Sharon, and Christie all rushed over to her, yelling to the boys to go and get help. Caree and Christie carefully turned Amanda's body over. Woodchips were sticking out of her skin. Christie started taking out the woodchips while Caree checked for a heartbeat. Sharon was sitting next to Alyssa's still, bloodied body, crying uncontrollably. "What happened?" Christie yelled.

"I don't know!" Sharon answered. "I think she just slipped. But…"

"But what!" Caree and Christie screamed at the same time.

"I… I think Ryan might have pushed her," Sharon said quietly, tears streaming down her horrified face.


	8. Swim Class

**Chapter 7: Swim Class**

Caree looked around as she got on the bus. She sat in an empty seat near the back of the bus. Bridget sat down next to her. "It feels so good to be able to move," Bridget commented, stretching. Caree laughed. Bridget and Alyssa were finally out of the hospital. Alyssa was lucky and only broke an arm but she did lose a lot of blood. They stopped at Christie's bus stop. Christie got on the bus and sat in the seat in front of Caree and Bridget. Christie smiled at Bridget and leaned over to give her a hug. She had not managed to see Bridget since she got out of the hospital. They all talked excitedly on the way to school.

Twenty-five minutes later Caree, Christie, and Sharon were on the bus to go to swim class. "Oh, no!" Caree shouted as Katie Hallyway walked onto the bus. She had just realized that Katie was in this class with her. Christie laughed at the horrified expression on Caree's face. Katie, just before Christmas break, had turned Caree against all of her true friends. It really seemed as if she had put some sort of spell on her or something because Caree would agree with anything she would say. "Can't she just go fall down and die somewhere?" Caree joked. Sharon looked confused so they both explained to Sharon who Katie was. "She almost had me under her spell," Caree admitted.

"No, she _did_ have you under her spell," Christie teased, laughing even harder now. Ten minutes later the girls were cold in the school pool. They were learning the sidestroke when Caree felt something on her feet. It felt like… hair.

Caree reached down and pulled at whatever was still tugging at her foot. She quickly pulled it up out of the water and let out a high, shrill screamed. She was staring at the once pale face of Katie. Now her face was blue and her normally gorgeous huge round pale-blue eyes were sunken back deep into her skull. She dropped Katie's hair still screaming.

Christie swam over to her as quickly as possible. _Why is she screaming like that_? Christie wondered, willing herself to go faster. She grabbed Caree's arm and brought her to the side of the pool.

"K-K-Katie," Caree stammered. She stopped screaming and was now crying.

"What's wrong?" Christie asked worriedly.

"K-Katie's d-d-dead," Caree choked out, crying even harder now.

Kristi swam over to where Caree had been when she was screaming. She dived down, and fighting back tears, looked around underwater for Katie. She came up for breath and saw something floating in the water. "Katie!" Christie cried.

She swam out to Katie's body. Caree followed her. _Please be alive Katie, Please,_ Caree begged silently. She didn't like Katie but she didn't want her dead. Caree caught up to the now crying Christie. They both held on to Katie as they helped each other bring her to the deck.

Caree and Christie hauled Katie's limp body onto the deck. Christie's face grew pale when she looked down at Katie's face.

"Mr. Leopardi!" Caree screamed in a high, frightened voice, recalling all the awful things she had said earlier that day. Seconds later Mr. Leopardi showed up next to them. "What happened?" He screamed frantically.

"We don't know," Caree sobbed. She looked down at Katie. She was so pale. Her hands… what was wrong with her hands? Then Caree noticed it. Katie had no fingernails. They looked as if they had been pulled out.

"Someone! Run to my office and use the phone to call the police!" Leopardi yelled in a high-pitched shriek. Christie quickly scrambled up and looked over at Sharon. She was staring at Katie's dead body. _Is she smiling?_ Christie thought. What Christie thought was a satisfied grin quickly turned to an expression of horror. She turned away and ran to Mr. Leopardi's office to make the phone call.


	9. The Funeral

**Chapter 8: The Funeral**

_I can't believe I'm really going to Katie's funeral home_, Caree thought shuddering. Caree had not been getting much sleep. She'd lie in bed for hours before drifting off and once she finally was asleep Katie's blue and purple face would haunt her dreams, causing her to wake up screaming. She kept seeing Katie's hands… Only chips of nail had remained. The police said that it was from Katie clawing at the bottom and sides of the concrete pool. It had been two days since she had found Katie in the school pool. Two days since she had actually felt her hair wrapped around her foot. But Caree could still feel it tangled in her toes.

Caree let out a loud sob as she thought about it. Bridget came up to her and gave her a long hug. Caree looked at the dark circles under Bridget's eyes and wondered if she looked as bad as her. _Probably,_ she thought, studying Bridget carefully. _I didn't even bother to look in the mirror. I probably look like something straight out of a horror movie... or worse._ Again she saw Katie's face, felt her long, wavy blonde hair tugging her foot. _How could Katie have drowned?_ Caree thought. _She was always the one showing off in swim, always the one ahead. Was this really an accident?_ Caree scolded herself for thinking that way but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

A couple minutes later Alyssa and Christie walked in, their eyes red rimmed and dark. They all took turns hugging each other and slowly walked up to Katie's open casket. Caree squeezed her hands into tight fists and felt her fingernails dig into her palms. She was so nervous. Caree looked at her friends. They were all nervous to, she saw. A few seconds later they were over her casket, staring down at Katie's dead body. Caree heard Alyssa gasp and Kristi uttered a low cry. Bridget stood silent, paler than ever. Caree opened her eyes wide. Is that really what Katie looked like? Caree thought. Her friends had on the same expressions. Katie looked different. Her skin was so deathly pale and her face was horribly swollen.

Later that day Bridget and Caree were sitting in Caree's room talking quietly to each other. "I-I think Sharon did it," Bridget stammered.

"You think what?" Caree cried, hoping she had heard her friend wrong.

"I think Sharon k-killed Katie," Bridget repeated.

"I'm upset about Katie too!" Caree shouted furiously, "But that is no reason to blame Sharon!" Caree let a sob escape her aching throat.

"Maybe I'm wrong but Sharon really creeps me out and…" Bridget started.

"And what?" Caree cried in a surprisingly loud voice that startled even her self. "And someone died that you never even liked, that you actually hated, so you need to blame my friend for her death?" Caree took a deep breath to calm her self down. "I'm sorry," Caree said, her voice shaking. I just can't wait until it's over. I don't want to have to go to the funeral. I don't want to see Katie get stuck in the ground." Tears formed in her eyes and started to stream down her face.

Caree and Christie silently walked into the cemetery. It seemed as if everything got darker as soon as they entered. Caree shuddered and slowing kept walking forward. Christie kept picturing Sharon's smile… _There is something seriously wrong here, _she thought. "I can't believe we're going to watch Katie be buried," Christie said with a frightened look on her face. Caree shivered at the thought.

"I just want this to be over with," Caree said, fighting back tears.

"She had just turned twelve… November twenty-eighth," Christie muttered closing her eyes tightly. Caree tried not to think that Katie's body was getting buried in the earth with a bunch of bugs and worms. Alyssa, Bridget, Ryan, and Christian had appeared next to Caree and she hadn't even realized it. Everybody gathered around as people said their last words to Katie and they started lowering her casket into the ground. Caree closed her eyes. She didn't want to see this. She never wanted to even be here. Startled screams forced Caree to open her eyes. She heard the frightened shouts of everybody watching. "Who's in there?" "Who fell?"

Caree stared down at the person lying face down on top of Katie's casket. Tall with sandy blonde hair… "Christian!" Caree screamed. She started to lower herself into the grave but some people she didn't know held her back. "I've got to help Christian! Somebody help him!" Caree cried, frantically waving her arms around trying to break free.

Caree watched as some people she didn't know set Christian carefully on the ground. One of the people listened for his heartbeat and checked his pulse. "He's alright!" The man shouted thankfully. Christian's eyelashes fluttered.

"What happened?" he asked, dazed, as Caree and her friends kneeled beside him.

"You-you fell into the grave," Caree said shakily. She sighed with relief. Caree ruffled his hair, which now was soaked with blood. His head was obviously bleeding. He said nothing as he closed his eyes and fell back into a sound sleep.


	10. In the Closet

**Chapter 9: In the Closet**

"I can't believe Alyssa actually thought Katie put a bomb in her gameboy!" Christie said, laughing as her and Caree walked up Christie's driveway. Christie pulled out a key and unlocked the door. Caree was very surprised that she was laughing. She hadn't laughed much since Katie died. It felt so good to be able to talk and laugh normally again. She followed Christie inside. They ran up to Christie's room still laughing.

"Christie do you have anything you can spray up here?" Caree asked. "It smells really gross," she stated wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah one second," Christie said and darted out of the room. She returned a few seconds later with some Fabreeze air freshener and started spraying the room.

"It's not going away!" Caree pouted.

"I wonder what it's coming from," Christie said and started searching around the room. As Christie got down on her knees to look under the bed Caree looked inside Christie's walk-in closet. She let out a high-pitched scream when she saw what was inside. Christie immediately jumped up to look inside the closet.

"What is it?" she cried before even looking in the closet. When Christie saw what Caree was looking at she uttered a low groan and fell to her knees. She closed her eyes and trying not to vomit, slowly got up.

Caree and Christie ran shakily down the stairs as fast as they could without falling over and call nine one one. They didn't know what else to do. They told them their names and Christie's address and quietly hung up. Christie ran to the bathroom leaving Caree alone in the kitchen. About a minute later Christie came back looking less green but much paler. They waited silently at the door. Not even a minute later they heard police sirens. A couple seconds later there were two police cars outside Christie's house.

Caree and Christie led a couple policemen to her room while some other policemen investigated downstairs. Caree's stomach lurched as they neared Christie's closet. When Christie looked in the closet Caree thought that she was going to pass out for sure but she luckily didn't. They were both weeping by the time the policemen got past them and into the closet where Kaisy was laying, dead on the floor. "H-h-how'd she-she die?" Christie stammered.

"We don't know yet," a calm-faced woman police officer answered.

Caree suddenly stomach heaved when she noticed Kaisy's paws. Her claws were missing. All of them. All of her claws broken off or pulled out. One of the two. Dried, crusted, rust-colored blood was caked on all of her four paws. She uttered a low moan a pointed toward the dog's bloody paws. A young policeman bent down, studied Kaisy's paws, and then studied the floor beneath her. The carpet was all ripped up. "Her claws are stuck in the carpet. She must have been in a great deal of pain and been clawing at the carpeting," The man said. He looked at the girls with knowing, deep blue eyes. "I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure she died of a heart attack. I will have to take her to be tested." A couple of police officers covered up the dog with a white sheet while a couple of other police officers called the girls' parents. The police officers took the girls to Caree's house and left them there to cry.


End file.
